Ski-and-pole carrier



Dec. 30, 1969 A. J. EsoPl SKI-AND-POLE CARRIER Filed Feb. 5, 1968 v m z/vme AZDU J. [SOP/ 8r WM m US. Cl. 224-45 United States Patent 3,486,672 SKI-AND-POLE CARRIER Aldo J. Esopi, 604 N. Main St., RD. 2, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18702 Filed Feb. 5, 1968, Ser. No. 703,064 Int. Cl. A63c 11/02; B65d 71/00; A44b 71/00 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention is concerned essentially with a carrier for a set of skis and poles wherein are provided a pair of separate holders each having relatively large loop means for snugly receiving the skis and relatively small loop means for snugly receiving the poles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As is well known, skis and ski poles are cumbersome and ungainly to transport in a nonuse condition, and toward this end there have been proposed prior ski carriers. However, such ski carriers have not been generally accepted, as involving relatively complex procedures for engagement with and disengagement from the skis, not retaining the poles suitably secured together with the skis, and having substantial bulk so as to be inconvenient to carry on the person when not in use.

SUMMARY Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention to provide a highly improved ski carrier which overcomes the above-mentioned difiiculties, effectively maintaining the ski poles and skis in a secure relationship, which carrier is relatively light in weight and occupies a minimum of space for convenient storage as in a persons pocket, when not in use, and which is extremely simple to apply to and remove from the skis and poles, the poles affording a convenient handle for manual portability of the skis.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a ski-and-pole carrier having the advantageous characteristics mentioned in the preceding, which is extremely simple in construction, durable and entirely reliable throughout a long useful life, and which can be economically manufactured for sale at a reasonable price.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a material part of this disclosure.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope will be indicated by the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURE 1 is a top perspective view illustrating a skiand-pole carrier of the present invention in its operative condition of use.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view showing one component or holder of the instant invention apart from the skis and poles.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the holder of FIGURE 2, one element thereof being shown in phantom in an alternative position.

FIGURE 4 is a partial perspective view showing a slightly modified form of buckle or catch for use with the instant holder.

FIGURE 5 is a partial perspective view showing a slightly modified holder construction for engagement with the ski poles, the latter being illustrated in phantom.

3,486,672 Patented Dec. 30, 1969 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and specifically to FIGURES 13 thereof, a ski carrier is shown in operative condition in FIGURE 1, as including a pair of holders 10, which maybe substantially identical, in holding relation with respect to a pair of skis 11 and a pair of poles 12. It will there be seen that the holders 10 maintain the skis and poles in longitudinally extending relation with respect to each other, the poles being in spaced parallelism with the skis to afford a convenient h-andgrip or handle means, as illustrated by the users hand 13.

The holders 10 may be substantially identical, so that a detailed description of one will suffice. In FIGURES 2 and 3 are shown in greater detail a holder 10, as including a relatively large lower girding member or loop means 15 for snug circumposition about a pair of skis 11. An upper, relatively small girding member or loop means -16 is connected to the lower relatively large loop means 15, lying in side-by-side substantially coplanar relation with the latter, exteriorly thereof.

The larger and smaller loop means 15 and 16 are advantageously of resiliently distensible construction, as by integral molding of resilient plastic, rubber or other suitably elastic material.

The lower, larger loop means 15 may comprise a single open loop 17 of a striplike configuration terminating at free ends 18 and 19. Detachably connecting the loop ends 18 and 19 is a releasable catch or buckle generally designated 20. The buckle 20 may be of any suitable type, and a suitcase-type catch has been found advantageous, as applying tension to the loop 17. For example, the buckle 20 may include an eye 21 extending pivotally through the free loop end 18 and provided with a reversely bent lip or hook 22 remote from the loop end 18. A lever 23 is pivotally connected at one end, as by an eye 24, to the free loop end 19, having a finger-press portion 25 extending from the opposite lever end. Intermediate the lever ends a ring 26 of generally rectangular configunation has one end pivoted to the lever 23, the other ring end being releasably interengageable with the hook 22. In this condition, as illustrated in FIGURE 2 and in solid lines in FIGURE 3, the lever 23 is swung inward or counterclockwise beyound dead center to effectively retain the loop ends .18 and 19 connected together under tension. The loop ends 18 and 19 may be disconnected by outward or clockwise swinging of the lever 23, to the phantom position shown in FIGURE 3, wherein the ring 26 will disengage from the hook 22.

Advantageously, a protective extension, tongue or flap 27 may extend fro-m one end of the loop 17, say the end 19 across the space betwen the loop ends to lie inward of the buckle or catch 20. Thus, the extension 27 is interposed betwen the buckle and skis received in the loop 17 to effectively protect the latter.

The smaller loop means 16, as best seen in FIGURES 2 and 3, may be formed integral with the larger loop means 15, including an open loop 30 disposed alongside of and for-med integral with the loop 17, substantially tangent to the latter and secured thereto, as by a connection portion 31.

The smaller loop 30 may have free ends 32 and 33 releasably connected together by a suitable catch or buckle 34, shown in the illustrated embodiment as including a pair of generally rectangular rings 35 and 36 respectively pivotally connected to the free loop ends 32 and 33, and a hook member 37 pivoted to One of the rings, say ring 35 for releasable interengagement with the other ring 36. Also, an extension member, guard or flap 38 may be formed integral with and extend from one of the free ends, say end 32, lying inward of and extending across the buckle 34. Thus, the flap or guard 38 is interposed between the buckle 34 and poles 12 received by the loop 30. Of course, the buckle 34 is readily releasable or openable by mere disengagement of the hook 37 from the ring 36.

In the operational condition of FIGURE 1, it will now be readily understood that the relatively large loops 17 of the holders are circumposed at spaced locations about the skis 11, while the relatively small loops 30 are circumposed at spaced locations about the poles 12. The loops snugly engage about to frictionally retain the skis and poles against relative movement, so that the poles afford a convenient handgrip or handle, which may be located at substantially the center of gravity for convenient portability.

Another embodiment of buckle or catch is shown in FIGURE 4, and there generally designated 40. The buckle 40 may separably connect loop ends 41 and 42, including a generally rectangular ring 43 having one end pivotally connected to one loop end, as the loop end 41. A generally rectangular ring 44 may have one end connected to the other loop end 42, and a lever 45 may be pivotally connected at one end to the other end of the ring 44. The lever 45 may be provided with a finger-grip portion 46 extending from the end remote from the lever connection to ring 44, and intermediate the ends of lever 45 may be provided one or more notches or slots 47 for selective reception of the ring 43 remote from loop end 41. Thus, the buckle 40 is adjustable to apply a desired tension to the loop ends 41 and 42 by engagement of the ring 43 in a selected notch 47. The lever 45 is thereupon swingable inwardly to an over-center position and retains this position by virtue of tension in the closed loop. Of course, manual outward swinging movement of the lever 45, as applied to the lever end portion 46, effects release of the loop tension, and permits removal of the ring 43 from the lever notch 47 to disconnect the loop ends 41 and 42.

Referring now to FIGURE 5, the partial perspective illustration therein represents a slightly modified embodiment of relatively small loop means 16a, which may comprise a pair of integrally formed relatively small loops 30a, each being peripherally closed and of suitable resiliently distensible material, such as rubber, or the like. Viewed otherwise, the relatively small loop means 16a, may include a lug or boss '50 formed integral with and projecting exteriorly from the relatively large loopa. The lug or boss is formed with a pair of generally parallel, laterally spaced thru apertures or holes 51, extending in parallelism with each other and parallel with the axis of loop 15a. The thru holes 51 thus combine with the lug or boss 50 to define the pair of relatively small loops 30a. In addition to the resilient distensibility of the loops 30a, the holes 51 may advantageously be formed with internal projections or formations, as at 52, say assuming the form of internal teeth, which are also resiliently deformable to further insure frictional retention of the poles 12 in the loops 30a.

In use, it will be appreciated that, with the embodiment of FIGURES 13, the holders 10 may be engaged about and released from the skis 11 and poles 10 by mere closing and opening of the buckles and 34. Employing the embodiment of FIGURE 4, requires merely closing and opening of the buckle 40, and in the embodiment of FIGURE 5, in addition to a buckle for the larger loop 15a, the poles 12 are inserted endwise through and withdrawn from the smaller loops 300. When not in use, the holders 10 are of relatively small size and negligib e bulk, being freely flexible and distortable, for convenient retention in a users pocket.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the present invention provides a ski-and-pole carrier which fully accomplishes its intended objects and is well adapted to meet practical conditions of manufacture and use.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be made within the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A ski-and-pole carrier of freely flexible construction including a pair of holders for location in spaced relation along a pair of skis and each comprising a resiliently distensible elongate strip freely bendable to define relatively large loop means for snug circumposed engagement about a pair of skis, releasable buckle means on the end portions of said elongate strip for releasably retaining the latter in said circumposed engagement, and relatively small loop means fabricated of resiliently distensible material and integrally connected to said large loop means coplanar therewith and exteriorly thereof for snug engagement about a pair of poles, whereby a pair of said holders retains the poles in parallelism with the skis to provide a carrying handle.

2. A ski-and-pole carrier according to claim 1, said small loop means of each holder comprising a strip-like member generally tangent to said large loop means of the respective holder.

3. A ski-and-pole carrier according to claim 1, said small and large loop means of each holder being integrally molded of rubberlike material.

4. A ski-and-pole carrier according to claim 3, said small loop means each comprising a pair of integrally joined small loops for snugly receiving respective poles.

5. A ski-and-pole carrier according to claim 4, in combination with resiliently deformable internal f0rmations in said small loops for snug frictional engagement with received poles.

6. A ski-and-pole carrier according to claim 1, in combination with an extension member on one free end of each large loop for extension between the adjacent buckle and received ski.

7. A ski-and-pole carrier according to claim 6, said small loop means of each holder comprising a relatively small open loop having free ends, and additional releasable buckle means on the free ends of said relatively small loop for releasably closing the latter under tension.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,847,501 3/1932 Stahler 224- X 3,114,487 12/1963 Miller et a1. 224-45 3,232,422 1/1966 (Whyte 29487.2 X 3,260,430 7/1966 Sandenburgh 224-45 3,342,388 9/1967 Duckworth 22445 GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

